The vertical blow of a humpback whale surfacing to breathe in grey waters near Juneau, the wooded coastline blurred by haze in the background.
A humpback whale surfacing near Juneau. Whale-watching season overlaps with the months of most daylight, not the driest ones.Diego Delso / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0·CC BY-SA 4.0

01 A place where sun is the exception

The four moments that define the year

MayThe balanced month

89 mm and a 14.2 °C high. The most reasonable combination of mild weather and contained rain.

JulThe warmest month

17.8 °C mean high. Also the cruise peak: downtown streets are busier than at any other time.

SepThe wettest month

232 mm, more than double May's total. In exchange, the Tongass forest turns gold.

DecShort and quiet

1.5 °C high and very few sunlight hours, but also not a single cruise ship in port.

02 May, the month that breaks the pattern

03 July is warm, wet and crowded all at once

The upper station of the Mount Roberts Tramway rising above dense spruce treetops, its metal structure and cables outlined against a white sky of low cloud.
The Mount Roberts Tramway's upper station among low clouds, an ordinary day among the year's many overcast ones.Wknight94 / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0·CC BY-SA 3.0

In Juneau, good weather and a quiet town almost never land in the same month.

04 September: the wettest month is also the most golden

Mendenhall Glacier and Nugget Falls cascading beside it, the turquoise glacial lake water in the foreground and fog-wrapped forested mountains behind.
Mendenhall Glacier and Nugget Falls under low cloud, a common scene in the rainiest months.Diego Delso / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0·CC BY-SA 4.0

05 How to choose based on what matters to you

The year in one sentence: in Juneau you are not choosing between rain and sun, you are choosing between moderate rain and good temperatures, heavy rain and golden forest, or steady rain and empty streets. All three are valid versions of the same town.

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Ana Larrea

When To Go editor · Flowtravel

Ana turns climate data and local calendars into travel decisions.

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